A V Subramanian is new Puducherry Congress chief

New Delhi, March 4 (IANS) The Congress on Wednesday appointed A.V. Subramanian as the new President of the Puducherry Congress Committee replacing A. Namassivayam.It is going to the polls in April next year along with Tamil Nadu. The Congress has a government in Puducherry and V. Narayansamy is the chief minister.Subramanian belongs to the fishermen community and has been the Speaker from 2000-2001. He was also the Education Minister for a few months in 2001. However, the Congress has not been able to decide the state chiefs in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. In Madhya Pradesh, chief minister Kamal Nath is also holding the Pradesh Congress Committee president’s post. In Rajasthan, Sachin Pilot, the deputy chief minister, is also the state president and the Gehlot camp is eyeing this post, lobbying with the leadership in Delhi.In Maharashtra, Balasaheb Thorat has become revenue minister in the state and the post of state Congress chief is yet to be filled. In Mumbai, Eknath Gaikwad has the temporary charge as the city Congress chief after the resignation of Milind Deora.The Uttarakhand Congress is also mired in controversy as MLA Harish Dhami has rebelled against State President Pritam Singh and claims that he has the support of several MLAs. The state leaders want a change of guard and have apprised the high command of the situation.The party also appointed Aishwarya Mahadev, media panellist, as a secretary in the women’s wing on Tuesday. Her promotion to the national organisation is significant as the party may see a comeback of former President Rahul Gandhi.The party is gearing up for a change ahead of the April plenary session, sources say, adding that during the tenure of Sonia Gandhi the party may see changes in the organisation.–IANSmiz/skp/bg